The invention relates to the field of medicine. The invention particularly relates to the isolation of a new enterovirus and methods for detection, identification, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the enterovirus.
According to the most recent classification of viruses, the family of the Picornaviridae is divided in six genera, among which are the human enteroviruses, rhinoviruses, parechoviruses, aphthoviruses, cardioviruses, and hepatoviruses. The genus enterovirus includes the following human virus species: polioviruses and human enterovirus groups A to D. Poliovirus (PV) consists of three serotypes: poliovirus 1 (PV-1), PV-2 and PV-3. Human enterovirus A (HEV-A) consists of 12 serotypes, including coxsackievirus A2, A16 and enterovirus 71 (more details concerning these viral strains are listed in Table 1). Human enterovirus B (HEV-B) consists of 37 serotypes; human enterovirus C (HEV-C) consists of 11 serotypes and human enterovirus D (HEV-D) consists of 2 serotypes. Enteroviruses are single strand RNA viruses. Their genomes comprise approximately 7500 nt.
Enteroviruses cause a wide spectrum of clinical syndromes ranging from mild fever to respiratory infections, meningitis, encephalitis, paralytic poliomyelitis and myocarditis. An estimated 10 to 30 million enteroviral infections occur annually in America, causing significant short-term mobility and economic impact. Life-threatening enteroviral infections may occur, especially in high-risk individuals such as immunocompromised patients.
Hence, enteroviruses cause a wide spectrum of clinical syndromes. Enteroviral infections often result in “general” symptoms, such as diarrhoea and fever, which are involved in many different kinds of disease. Therefore, symptoms of an enteroviral infection cannot be directly correlated to an enteroviral genus-related disease. Characterization of the causative agent is therefore often necessary in order to provide adequate treatment. Once a causative agent is known, efficient diagnosis, prevention and/or treatment becomes possible.